Subscriptions for Opera Santa Barbara's New Season Now on Sale

Subscription sales have begun for Opera Santa Barbara's 2016-17 season, which will open with Georges Bizet's timeless drama Carmen on November 4 and 6, followed by productions of Leoš Janá?ek's imaginative The Cunning Little Vixen on March 3 and 5, and Giacomo Puccini's richly melodic La Rondine on April 28 and 30. Prices start at just $77, and subscriber benefits include children's discounts and free admission to the company's new "Opera Goes to the Movies" series that will launch in the fall. To purchase subscriptions, visit www.operasb.com/subscription.php or call 805-898-3890.

Opera Santa Barbara's 23rd season is the first to be planned in its entirety by Kostis Protopapas, who was named the company's artistic director last July.

"It's my happy challenge as artistic director to assemble a season that gives some sense of what this amazing art form has to offer in terms of entertainment, feeling, and meaning," he said. "Taken together, these three works present a unique and compelling artistic proposition worth experiencing in its entirety. We look forward to sharing these works with you, in productions painstakingly prepared by our production staff, orchestra, and chorus, and featuring some of the finest young American singers working today."

Mr. Protopapas will make his company conducting debut for Opera Santa Barbara's production of Carmen, Bizet's ever-popular tale of love and jealousy that brims with delightful music. Directed by Octavio Cardenas, the production will feature mezzo-soprano Leann Sandel-Pantaleo in the title role, tenor Harold Meers as Don Jose, and soprano Jeanine De Bique as Micaela. Ms. Sandel-Pantaleo and Mr. Meers have performed with the Metropolitan Opera numerous times, and all three singers boast impressive international credits.

Superstar soprano - and UC Santa Barbara faculty member - Isabel Bayrakdarian will headline the cast of The Cunning Little Vixen, Janá?ek's humorous and tender allegory about the connections between people and animals, and the cyclical nature of life and death. Directed by Crystal Manich and designed by Francois-Pierre Couture, the new production will appeal to both children and adults, and will be performed in English with English subtitles. Baritone David Kravitz will portray the Forester, and mezzo-soprano Lauren McNeese will make her company debut as the Fox. Hailed as an "electrifying" performer by The New York Times, Ms. Bayrakdarian has captivated opera and concert audiences the world over. Mr. Kravitz and Ms. McNeese are increasingly sought after by opera companies throughout the nation.

And the season will conclude with Opera Santa Barbara's premiere production of La Rondine, Puccini's elegant and poignant operetta about a worldly woman who falls in love with a naïve younger man, who in turn causes her to question the cost of her glittering existence. Soprano Karin Wolverton will make her company debut as Magda, tenor Adam Diegel will sing the role of Ruggiero, and baritone Zeffin Quinn Hollis will perform as Rambaldo. Tara Faircloth will direct. Mr. Diegel's extensive credits include appearances with the Metropolitan Opera, while Ms. Wolverton and Mr. Hollis continue to earn plaudits for their versatility as performers.

Complete artist biographies are available at www.operasb.org.

Performances will take place at the Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street in downtown Santa Barbara.

Subscribers can purchase season tickets for their children ages 17 and under for just $42. These discounted tickets allow for seating with parents in all sections of the Granada except the loge and boxes.

For more information, visit www.operasb.org or call 805-898-3890.

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